1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements to computerized in-store pricing systems, and more particularly to advantageous aspects of a system and methods for determining and displaying product pricing information.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The information provided in present store pricing systems is typically limited to a cost amount and, on occasion, descriptions for the cost of a single item. xe2x80x9cCostxe2x80x9d is defined herein as the amount to be paid by a retail customer for specific individual items in a transaction. In typical prior art systems, the raw data for the generation of cost information is encapsulated in a pricing system database and its corresponding point-of-sale (POS) components. The cost of an individual item is derived from its price. xe2x80x9cPricexe2x80x9d is defined as the amount to be charged for an item, which includes data relating to the amount charged for the item and to the item""s context in a transaction. For example, an item may cost 50 cents if purchased as a single unit, but less than 50 cents if a predetermined number of units is purchased. Thus, the price of an item may include more than one cost, depending upon the context, for example, xe2x80x9c0.50 ea. or 3/$1.00.xe2x80x9d Existing pricing systems typically support only limited cost displays and are unable to display detailed pricing information.
There is thus a need for an in-store pricing system with the ability to generate a textual description of an item""s price and other pricing information. Further, it is desirable for such a system to be able to work in conjunction with existing in-store pricing systems, generating detailed pricing information based upon the raw pricing data contained in the current in-store pricing system.
A presently preferred embodiment of the invention provides a system for determining and displaying product pricing for an item. The system comprises a software price checker object for gathering and assembling pricing information associated with a retail item. A store price object coupled to the price checker object provides an interface between the price checker object and an existing store database, and a price object coupled to the store price object holds data retrieved from the existing store database. A supplementary database coupled to the price checker object provides supplementary data associated with the retail item. Further, a formatter object coupled to the price checker object and the price object receives as an input the data contained in the price object and provides as an output a formatted output string.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.